Debutants Chornomorets stun Dinamo in Zagreb
Thursday, September 19, 2013
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GNK Dinamo Zagreb 1-2 FC Chornomorets Odesa
The Ukrainian visitors marked their first UEFA Europa League group stage game with victory courtesy of goals from Olexiy Antonov and Franck Dja Djedje.
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UEFA Europa League group stage debutants FC Chornomorets Odesa came from behind to win 2-1 at Group B rivals GNK Dinamo Zagreb.
While Dinamo were just a narrow play-off defeat away from the UEFA Champions League group stage, Chornomorets had to labour hard to reach this point, advancing from the UEFA Europa League second qualifying round. Indeed, the difference in pedigree looked set to show when Junior Fernándes gave Branko Ivanković's team the lead. However, Olexiy Antonov and Franck Dja Djedje were both on the mark in the second half to complete the turnaround.
Dinamo have now failed to emerge victorious from any of their nine assignments against Ukrainian opposition. Though they had only two long-range Marcelo Brozović efforts to show for much of their first-half superiority, they got their just rewards two minutes before the interval. Fernándes darted in from the right and showed sufficient alertness to convert the rebound after his initial effort had been parried by Dmytro Bezotosnyi.
Fernándes was swift to chance his arm after the break too, but it was far from a sign of things to come. Instead, Dja Djedje's header was the width of the crossbar away from providing the equaliser, before Antonov showed him how it was done following substitute Sito Riera's cross. Though Dja Djedje spurned another opening moments later, it was third time lucky for the 27-year-old, who met Pavlo Kutas's whipped free-kick with a towering header to put the visitors in front.
Dinamo looked shell-shocked, with only the familiar figure of Fernándes threatening to draw them level again when he broke clear of the Chornomorets defence to no avail.